Amy Bendekovits has a personal reason to promote next month's benefit walk for multiple sclerosis.

The Northampton native lost her father to the disease three years ago, just before graduating from high school. Now a tourism and hospitality management student at Temple University, she has made it part of her mission to help combat the disease.

She recently returned from participating in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Public Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., after winning an essay contest. When I met with her, she was full of information and determined to educate others about the debilitating immune disease.

Bendekovits knows the symptoms of multiple sclerosis intimately. She has seen what happens when the immune system starts to attack its own tissues. Multiple sclerosis harms myelin, a vital substance that protects nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord.

She saw her father lose his mobility and his vision. She also saw him withstand days of extreme pain to be there for her as a father. Now she is using what she learned from her dad to educate others about the condition and to raise money for what she hopes will become life-saving research.

She will walk her talk on May 5 at Allentown's Coca-Cola Park. She also plans to return to Washington this year to lobby on Capitol Hill for additional funds for research. It is the best way, she says, to improve the quality of life for people who face this condition daily.

Bendekovits is not only honoring her father's legacy with her keen interest in fighting multiple sclerosis, she is also trying to make life easier for other families like hers. You can help her efforts by registering as a team or as an individual at http://www.walk4ms.org.